This regional issues brief was prepared for the Africa Regional Dialogue of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law which took place on 4 August 2011 in Pretoria, South Africa.

This report systematizes existing knowledge of effective interventions in the area of juvenile sexual and reproductive health.

Background: Accessible sexual, reproductive, and mental healthcare services are crucial for adolescent health and wellbeing.

Nearly half of the world's population, some 3 billion people, is under the age of 25.

Objectives: To describe the sexual and reproductive behaviour of adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly 15- to 19-year-olds.

Despite decades of investment in HIV prevention, a large and vulnerable population—that of adolescent girls—remains invisible, underserved, and at disproportionate risk of HIV.

Providing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education in schools is a cost-effective way of reaching young people because the majority of adolescents are enrolled in school.

This monograph presents a synthesis of elements of the most promising prevention strategies identified and used by peer led sexual health programmes.

This issue concentrates on the questions of "What are the challenges of designing social marketing campaigns to reach young adults?", and "What are the key elements of effective social marketing to reach young people?"

This second volume of "Communities responding to the challenge of adolescent pregnancy prevention" provides step-by-step guidance on assessing the needs and assets of youth in the community, developing a strong funding base for programmes, and planning for the evaluation of pregnancy pr